basic knowledge
0.5.0 5/29/2026

0.5.0 Return of the Ancients

Major UpdateLeagueCraftingAtlasAscendancy

0.5.0 Return of the Ancients is not a content drop with some balance attached — it re-pours the foundation. Defence gains a whole new layer (Runic Ward), the crafting loop is replaced (Remnants and Runeforging), and the order in which you traverse the endgame map is redrawn (Atlas reset, Fortresses). The free passive-tree refund handed to every existing character follows from that: too many of the assumptions a build was standing on moved at once.

The first thing you feel in play is that you now have an extra resource. The 23 Kalguuran Skills spend Runic Ward rather than mana, and Runic Ward is what Runeforging puts onto your armour — so “investing in defence” and “paying for your skills” become the same action. Add in the fact that those skills are colourless and ignore attribute and weapon requirements, and the result is an attack axis that can be bolted onto any character regardless of class.

On the endgame side the theme is the destination is now signposted. The Atlas has fixed points of interest and an intro quest for each league mechanic, so you can see where a Pinnacle Boss lives instead of stumbling into one, and every Pinnacle Boss splits into a deterministic Quest version and a repeatable farm version. The Atlas tree growing past 300 nodes with full allocation belongs to the same idea — the phase where you weighed respec cost against direction simply no longer exists.

Watch for the places where pre-0.5 guides are now wrong. Waystones cannot go into the map device until identified, Catalysts no longer drop from monsters at all (the Genesis Tree is the only source), and Simulacrum is a 7-wave encounter rather than 15. The Atlas was also reset, so any previous-league tree plan has to be rebuilt from scratch.

Runes of Aldur league (Runeforging)

The first challenge league, a crafting-focused mechanic themed around Kalguuran runesmithing.

  • Every area contains a Remnant (Verisium Remnant) with slots into which you engrave Runic Recipes to craft an item of your choosing; the runeshapes used determine what you can make.
  • Remnants have 2 to 10 slots (higher counts rarer); each extra slot adds a tougher monster wave with runic modifiers you must defeat to claim the item.
  • Killing Remnant monsters drops the new metal currency Verisium. New NPC Farrow adds 4 campaign quests that unlock the crafting features.
  • Verisium Runeforging (Act 1) adds Runic Ward to armour; Unique Verisium Runeforging (Act 3) upgrades the base type of sub-level-55 Unique gear.
  • Huge crafting-material additions: 13 Alloys (replace a mod), weapon-specific 13 Ancient Runes, early-game 13 Mythical Runes, resistance-converting 3 Fluxes, 15 Meta-crafting runes, and more.
  • Standard/Hardcore/SSF variants; challenge rewards grant the Knight of Aldur armour set (2/4/6/8).

New Ascendancies

  • Martial Artist (Monk) — a master of illusion powered by runic tattoos: creates illusions of himself, summons shatterable illusory bells, and fights bare-handed (“Way of the Stone Fist” turns gloves into stone fists).
  • Spirit Walker (Huntress) — channels Azmerian animal spirits: Stag (stampeding attacks), Owl (enhanced projectiles), Bear (giant companion); “Natural Order” lets her capture unique beasts, including bosses.

New defensive mechanic — Runic Ward

  • A protective pool that activates when you drop to 1 Life: damage that would kill you is drained from Runic Ward instead, letting you keep fighting.
  • It regenerates independently of Life; Armour/Evasion/Energy Shield modifiers do not apply to it.
  • Your max Runic Ward is added to starting Honour in Trials of the Sekhemas.

New skills & support gems

  • 23 Kalguuran Skills craftable from Remnants — they cost Runic Ward (not mana), are colorless, and ignore attribute/weapon requirements, so any class can use them. E.g. Animus Exchange, Wardbound Minions, Triskelion Cascade, Leylines, Eternal March.
  • 7 Kalguuran Supports: Healing Runes, Runic Extraction, Runic Infusion, Scouring Flame, Concussive Runes, Fist of Kalguur, Runeforged Blades.
  • 24 new Lineage Supports themed after faction leaders (Olroth’s Conviction, Vruun’s Inevitability, etc.) plus Minion Splash I/II.

Atlas & endgame overhaul (Origins of Divinity)

  • The Atlas now has fixed points of interest and quest intros for every league mechanic, guiding you to each Pinnacle Boss. Every Pinnacle Boss now has a deterministic Quest version and a repeatable, harder Infinite Farm version.
  • 30 new endgame maps and 40+ Ancient Modifiers. The Atlas was reset.
  • Completing your first tower raises a Fortress; its maps grant Atlas Tree points — the tree is expanded to 300+ nodes and can be fully allocated (no respec needed). New pinnacle boss Arbiter of Divinity.
  • Masters of the Atlas — Ascendancy-style endgame progression with 3 masters (Doryani’s Science, Hilda’s Hunting, Jado’s Spycraft), each 12 nodes of which 4 are active (swappable between maps).
  • Most mechanics reworked (Delirium/Breach/Ritual/Abyss trees); Simulacrum is now a 7-wave encounter.

Balance & crafting changes

  • Leech: only one leech instance per resource applies at once; hits capped at 40,000 for leech calculation.
  • Deflect capped at 95% chance (new formula).
  • Ascendancies: Acolyte of Chayula leech 15→20%, Blood Mage Vitality Siphon 10→20%, and more.
  • Skills: Comet slightly nerfed; Earthquake Aftershock buffed to 184–666%; Tempest Bell max 3 bells (was 1); Cull the Weak greatly buffed.
  • Waystones must now be identified before use; Catalysts no longer drop from monsters (Genesis Tree only); Orbs of Chance can be used on Tablets.

Quality of life

  • Added a Fragment Stash Tab, Build Guides (.build) support, Shift+Alt click to trade-search, skip NPC dialogue with Escape, quick party revive after bosses, a dedicated dodge-roll keybind, and further Atlas zoom/search.

Official patch notes

For the full detailed notes (balance, skills, bug fixes), see the official notes.